To become a hunter
by Iron Leaguer fan
Summary: The Count of Monte Cristo is still on the dark side, but it's up to a single Maverick Hunter to save him from darkness. A huge crossover, and it's my first one ! Enjoy it!
1. Meeting a familiar face

To become a hunter

Chapter 1: meeting a familiar face

It was a normal day at the hunter base, Zero was mediating at his room and everything was quiet, Vegeta was training with the Ginyu Force in the training room number 06, it was such a calm situation until they heard a cry of fear coming out of Zero's room.

Zero: NOOOOO!

Burter: What was that?!

Goldu: I don't know!

Jeice: It came from Zero's bedroom!

Vegeta: Well, what are we standing here for! Let's go!

They all nodded with agreement and dashed off to see what happened to their friend, when they arrived they saw Spectra and the Vexos standing outside the room with frightened look on their faces, Vegeta made his way inside followed by Jeice just to see Zero on the floor with X and Axl by both of his sides, the two young reploids looked up to see who has got in to see the two warriors standing there and looking at the unconscious Zero with a worried look, Jeice was more worried than anyone else in the base, even Iris, it hasn't been a minute until the rest of the Ginyu Force members dashed into the room and looked shocked at the long-blonde hair young man still unconscious, they looked at each other and stared back at the view of Zero with all of X, Axl, Vegeta and Jeice by his sides. Suddenly, they felt an earthquake and turned around to see who it was.

Kanjer: What happened?! … We heard Zero's scream so Roger and I came as fast as possible!

Natalie: Oh my! Is he OK?

After saying that all of them turned to see that Zero began to wake up, he was surprised when he saw all of his friends around him looking at with concern in their eyes, they were waiting for him to explain what was wrong with him. "What is it, guys?!", said Zero, he looked at his friends surprised from the look at their faces. Suddenly, he remembered what he saw while he was mediating and clutched his head in a look of pain on his face.

Vegeta (with concern in his voice): Zero, what is it?!

Zero (whispering): Vegeta…he's coming…HE…IS…COMING!

Ben (entering suddenly): Haa! He's coming!

Everyone in the room have panicked from Ben's sudden move, Vegeta glared at him with anger but -and as they all knew him- Ben has ignored him and kept acting the childish way, running around them and kept saying "he's coming…he's coming".

Recoom: WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?!

Ben (turning to the serious face): Heh…I'm talking about… (back to the childish tone of his voice) my friend Cristo!

All: WHAT?!

Zero was the most shocked of them all, well none had to blame him. He didn't want to see that face again! The face of 'The Cavern King'! Even thinking about it made him want to outburst all of his anger on that bastard! He stood up and asked Ben when will he come. "Haa! He's going to visit us tomorrow! Haa!", Ben said with his childish voice as left the room with a smile on his face, Zero's eyes darkened as he heard the news, actually, the last thing he wanted is to face that monster again! He clinched his fist in anger and excused himself to go for a walk through the streets of Paris. He left them and they all were wondering what was wrong with him, Armadrillomon didn't even bother himself to follow his digidestined partner because he knew when Zero is angry none have to annoy him.

Zero's pointveiw:

I was walking in the streets of Paris that afternoon, throwing curses on that devilish man whom is going to _**'visit'**_ us tomorrow. 'Curses on you, you NASTY DEMON!', I said in my mind. Well, none had to blame me for the way I'm acting, especially Jei, I didn't handle the look on his face. Anyway, while I was walking near the Champs-Elysee I saw three men walking towards me, the first one was wearing sunglasses and has no hair, the second has strange looking hair and he was acting like a complete idiot, my breath was caught in my throat when I saw the third one, he had blue skin and a long dark green hair, he was in black clothes and I could see a fire shape pattern on the sleeves, but the most important thing was his eyes. His right eye was ruby red and the left was acid green, it was HIM! The one who ruined my life and turned it into an eternity nightmare, the one who filled my entire life with only fear! He was there walking right to my direction, I just stood there frozen, there were only one word from three syllables on the edge of my tongue."Gan…kut…suou!" I said in nearly a whisper while they just went past me, it looked weird so I spun my whole body to make sure from what I saw seconds ago, and when I looked around, they weren't there! 'Gosh! I must've had a really bad headache because of the news. Damn it, Ben! How could you be so happy about the visit of that son of a…?', I thought for a while but then I let go a sigh of nervousness. Well, I wasn't in a good mood to wonder if I was imagining that or what, but I prayed to god that what I saw was just in my imagination, so with that I returned to the Hunter Base to get some rest.

"Zero! What's wrong?", asked Jeice with concerned tone in his voice, to be honest if there's something good for me after what I saw earlier, that should be his generous voice, he was like the big brother I hadn't a chance to know, and right then I turned around to face him, a little smile on my face to make him feel better, I saw all of the Ginyu Force standing right there waiting for me to spit an answer.

"Oh, it's nothing Jei! Really!", I said with the smile still on my face.

"We don't believe you!", Burter said in a determined voice, all of the Ginyu Force members nodded in agreement, my smile had gone and I sighed in defeat and told them what happened, they looked so surprised about it. "Well, we have to get some sleep because tomorrow is big day, don't forget that we're having an important guest", Goldu said positively. As for the others, they agreed that all of us had to sleep and get some rest to welcome the guest. I went to my room but couldn't close my eyes, the truth is that I didn't want to sleep and to see his face in my dreams, too! But in the end, I fell asleep with Armadrillomon by my side, that night I wished I won't wake up next morning!

Count's pointveiw:

It was Saturday morning, I was getting ready for my visit to the Hunter Base, I just couldn't wait to see Ben again, even though I knew that Double T won't be happy to see me and he would be very happy to blow up my head, but I didn't really care about it, all what cared about is to see Ben and to meet _'him'_ again, I was really interested in that kid, and sure that he is _'the one'_ my invisible friend was talking about, we had suffered enough from being Koshirogan's slaves. "Excellency, Blaze got the carriage ready to go", I heard Bertuccio saying, I turned around to see my loyal servant bowing before me, "excellent, because I don't want to be late from my appointment…Ah, and Bertuccio, tell them to get ready you and Baptistin are staying here!", I said to Bertuccio in determent and without another word he went to tell the high-ranked Spanish soldiers to be prepared, and when all of us were ready I ordered Blaze the cat to start moving. " Excellency, are you sure that this kid is the one we're looking for?", said the lieutenant with a doubting tone, I threw a malicious smile at him and he understood that I'm pretty sure from what said to them. I just hope that I won't see Double T in front of my face when I get in the base or I'm doomed! Well, unless if Ben stopped him, he was in charge on me even when we were mavericks, even though he didn't like it at first but then we became friends, strange isn't it?

"Excuse me for asking, Excellency but why did you take me and the lieutenant in this visit?". "Because, my dear commander, the place I'm going to is a military building, so I thought it would be the best for me to bring my own soldiers along, am I right?", I explained to them and they nodded without any other word, we carried on until we got to the Hunter Base.


	2. Meeting once again

Chapter 02: meeting once again

The horses stopped in front of the base, the count got out of his carriage and the Spanish soldiers got down from their horses and went in with their master. Meanwhile, inside the base everything was ready and everyone was there, well, everyone except Zero, "Armadrillomon, where's Zero?", asked X in a whisper.

Armadrillomon: Still asleep, I think he didn't sleep well last night.

Axl: No, he's just avoiding the guest and that's not a good thing for a hunter to do.

Ben: Haa! Armadrillomon, be a nice cute digimon and wake your partner UP!

Armadrillomon(sweat drop): O…OK!

Armadrillomon went to the room and there was Zero in his bed, pretending to be asleep:

Armadrillomon(Sighs): Hey! Zero! Come on, wake up! Our friends are waiting down stairs!

Zero: Leave me alone, Armadrillomon, I'm so tired you know.

Armadrillomon: But…I…

Just then, a sudden earthquake was shaking the place, it appeared that it was Kanjer followed by Gin:

Kanjer: HEY! YOU IDIOT! GET OFF OF THE BED OR YOU'LL SEE MY HUMMER IN YOUR FACE!

Gin: Zero, be a good maverick hunter and get out from the bed!

Demidevimon: The boss is right, everybody else are down there, and you're acting selfishly!

Zero: Leave me alone…I'm tired! So please, Kanjer, Aniki, I wanna get back to sleep.

Kanjer and Gin: If that's the way you want it, so be it!

The three of Gin, Demidevimon and Armadrillomon have dropped Zero from his bed and then Kanjer smashed him with the hummer-Ow, that hurts- Zero was in pain from the hummer, Kanjer and Gin were leaving the room along with the two digimons.

Kanjer: Listen, get ready and get down the stairs or I won't be very nice next time!

Then when they left Zero muttered "fine, I'm coming!", he wore his helmet and breathed deeply before he gets out of the room. Meanwhile, the Count has entered the base and greeted everyone , the first of them all was Ben.

The Count: Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen! I…Am the Count of Monte Cristo.

Colonel: We are all having the pleasure of your visit, Count.

The Count: This is very kind of you, Colonel.

Colonel(pointing to Iris): I want to introduce you to my sister Iris.

Iris(bowing politely): It's a pleasure to meet you, sir.

The Count(taking Iris' hand): The pleasure is all mine, mademoiselle Iris.

The Count kissed Iris' hand which made her blush, and she took it away with her face as red as a rose:

Iris: Why, thank you Count.

The Count: You're welcome…Oh, pardon me I almost forgot to introduce you to my own soldiers(he points to the two soldiers behind him). Gentlemen, I want you to meet Commander Raymond and Lieutenant Gabriel, my best and most loyal soldiers.

The two soldiers bowed before them, Gin and the lieutenant looked at each other in a disliking look. To describe them, the commander had a brown hair and light-colored skin while the lieutenant had a blond hair and dark-colored skin, both of them are from the Spanish army:

Raymond: Nice to meet you all, hunters.

Gabriel: It's a pleasure for us to meet such well trained soldiers as you.

X: It's a pleasure to meet you and your master, Commander, Lieutenant.

The Count: Say, didn't you notice that there's a missing member here, Commander?!

Raymond: You're right, Excellency, there IS something missing in here.

Iris: Oh, you must mean my fiancée, Zero.

Gabriel: Zero? Yes, he's the one we want to meet.

Colonel: Oh, you'll be surprised by his abilities, even though he's still young but he's the best soldier in the base.

The Count: Sounds impressive, isn't it lieutenant?

Here comes Double T to the scene and starts the blaming:

Double T: HEY! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU FOOLS DOING HERE?!

The Count: My, my, isn't that the high and mighty Double T?

Double T: Are you making a joke out of me?! Grrrr.

Tripple: Woah! Double T, stop! Stop, stop, stop!

Ben: That's enough, Double T! Leave them alone!

Double T was upset because he really wanted to blow up the Count's head:

The Count: Well, back to our subject, I really want to meet your fiancée in person, if that was possible.

Iris: Oh…Um…Actually, he is…

Zero: Right here!

Everyone turned their sights to up stairs to see Zero getting down and heading right to the Count, the Count's hand stretched to Zero's direction, he was waiting for Zero to shake his hand:

Signas: Zero, this is the Count of Monte Cristo and his soldiers, Commander Raymond and Lieutenant Gabriel.

The Count: You must be the famous Zero, it's a pleasure for me to meet the strongest warrior of the maverick hunters.

Zero: HANDS OFF! You're not expecting me to shake hands with this…This… This MONSTER!

Everyone looked at him in surprise, especially Iris, she went to him and slammed his face:

Iris(with anger in her voice): Zero! That's not a good way to treat our guest! You must give him an apology, NOW!

Zero: Me? Giving _**'him'**_ an apology? Ask him what had he done to me and then blame me!

Iris was shocked by his words, the Count looked surprised from the young hunter's reaction:

The Count: My apology, I did not expect that to happen because of me.

Iris: No! it's OK, Zero is just a little nervous 'cause he didn't sleep good that's all.

Zero: NO! THAT'S NOT ALL! (turning his head to the Count) LISTEN YOU SON OF A BITCH! I'LL SAY THIS JUST FOR ONCE! YOU'D BETTER LEAVE THE BASE BEFORE SUNSET, OR I'LL MAKE YOU WISH YOU'VE NEVER BORN! I'm going to get some training.

X: Zero, you have to pull back what you said, this is not the way to treat a guest-

Zero: He's a guest for you, for me he's not! "kimi no devil koreta demo ano demon ka hirai demon no".

Zero leaves with that and they all were surprised from that because they didn't understand anything:

Vermouth: What did Dragon mean with that?!

Gin: He said that…

The Count:"The devil may speak sweet but a demon will always remain a demon"!

Ben: Wow! How did you know that?!

The Count: I'm travelling a lot.

Colonel: Now, now, let's not make the matter bigger than this, OK?

Kanjer: Well, I was waiting for you to give me something!

The Count: I beg your pardon?!

Kanjer: That's a thing you should figure out by yourself!

Meanwhile, Zero was in training room number 06 and he was really angry:

Zero: Why that little…? He's acting so calm like nothing happened, "it's a pleasure for me to meet the strongest warrior of the maverick hunters", err, he's making me sick!

Computer: Mr. Zero, are you OK, sir?!

Zero: I'm fine! Start the training program, computer!

Computer: In which level sir?

Zero: The highest one!

Computer: The highest?! Sir, this level fits only Mr. Double T and I must warn you that it's more than your energy level can take!

Zero: I DON'T CARE! JUST…START IT! AND WHATEVER HAPPENED DON'T STOP IT!

Computer: Fine, but don't say he didn't warn me.

The training program started on level 27, Zero didn't care about what would happen to him, he just wants to outburst his anger on something.

Ben pointveiw:

We were all with my friend Cristo listening to his stories about his travels in space, anyhow, Gabriel was still angry from what Zero said, for me it was really rude but if my friend Cristo have done something bad to Zero, he would really deserve all the curses that he had received from him. Anyway, while we were talking we heard a cry of pain coming from the training room number 06, and it was familiar we all recognized that it was Zero and without anything else to say we all went to see what was wrong. "What the hell is he doing?!", I heard Double T saying in anger, I turned around but I didn't expect to see the Count and his two soldiers following after!

When the maverick hunters and the three men arrived, they saw Zero seriously injured and still trying to stand up, everyone was afraid but Double T was just angry:

Double T: Computer! What's going on in here?!

Computer: Well, Mr. Zero wanted to train himself so he asked me to start the training program.

Double T: I know! What I meant is which level is THIS?!

Computer: Um…Level 27 sir.

Iris: What?!

Ben: Is he crazy?! He's going to kill himself!

Jeice: Computer, stop it now!

Double T: It's useless! Even if we wanted to stop it we can't! Because this level won't stop until he finishes it.

Computer: And in addition, he ordered me not to stop the program under any condition.

The Count just stood there with Raymond and Gabriel watching silently, and Ben noticed that his friend was looking maliciously at Zero who is really in a very bad condition. Everyone else were confused, they didn't know what to do about this situation while the three men were talking about it-unfortunately, in a calm tone too!- :

Raymond: The poor kid, he'll hurt himself.

Gabriel: Yeah, how sad.

The Count: Unless if I got in there…(holding his scepter in front of his face)…Chaos…Control!

The scepter glowed and the Count transported inside, everyone were amazed except Ben who knew how he got in there:

Axl: Wow! That's cool! How did he do that?

Impmon: I say that both of them are going to die.

Laquia: Impmon!

Impmon: What?! I was just saying my opinion!

Kanjer: They're done for.

Vegeta: Kanjer! Stop saying that!

Iris looked in concern to the injured Zero inside, just in few seconds the Count was slicing the training robots as if he was slicing fruits! He was destroying them easily one by one, when Double T saw this he felt that he wanted to explode, this is HIS training level how did that handicap just got through it that easily?! Well, for the rest of the hunters saw that it was cool especially Matt and Axl:

Matt: That's really awesome! Did you see that Nolegs?!

Nolegs: Meow!

Double: I have to admit he's even better than Double T.

Double T looked at him in an angry look, and then he turned his head to the Count to see where did he reached:

Double T: What the…?! HOW DID HE FINISH THE LEVEL THIS EASILY?!

Tripple: Hey, looks like the handicap has stolen your spotlight right, Double T?

Double T got even madder and threw Tripple to the wall! Meanwhile, Zero was barely able to stand up, the Count got close to him and lent him a hand:

The Count: Are you OK kid?

Zero(slamming the Count's hand away): GET AWAY FROM ME! I…didn't…ask…for…your help! Ah.

Zero has fainted and fell down, lucky for him the Count got him in his arms and went out from the room, the others were in front of the door and they were so worried:

Iris: Oh my god! Is he alright?!

Dark Dizzy: Of course he is, he's just been hit over here, and here, and here… OW!

Zero slammed Dark Dizzy on his face and then he turned to see who is holding him:

Zero(seeing an image of a young man before he faints): Whoa?! Who…are…you?!

Zero suddenly knocked out and the Count looked at him with hopeful eyes, he followed Iris to Zero's room and put him in his bed, "You're our hope kid, I'm sure you'll understand this. Sooner or later, you will", the Count whispered in Zero's ear, and then left the room with Raymond and Gabriel, the maverick hunters followed them except the Ginyu force. They stayed there to make sure that their friend is alright, all that while they heard him saying things like: 'No!…What are you doing to him?!...Let go of him!...He's not a traitor! He's innocent!', and then he woke up, scared and confused but then he put himself together when he saw all of the Ginyu force looking at him:

Burter: Zero, who's the guy you were talking about while you're unconscious?!

Goldu: Yeah, Zero! Who were you talking about?!

Zero: Believe me when I say I don't know him, either! But I heard a name.

Ginyu: And what was that name?!

Zero: Dantes!…Edmond Dantes!

He got up from his bed and went to see the others after the Ginyu force left before him, he stood behind the door and looked inside to see the Count talking to the others. 'So he just ignored my warning, huh?', he thought, he used his speed to get away and walk in the forest a little time. Unknown to him, Gabriel saw him and followed him to the forest, the lieutenant wanted to teach Zero a lesson for what he said earlier this day, and so went after him waiting the right time to give him the shot.


	3. Searching for answers

Chapter 3: Searching for answers

Jeice and Vegeta were so worried about Zero, especially when Gabriel threw him with that look, so they went with the four of Goldu, Recoom, Burter and Ginyu to the forest to make sure that Zero won't get harmed. In this time, Gabriel was still after Zero waiting for him to stop in a spot where he can do the thing in his mind, suddenly Zero has stopped and turned around to face the lieutenant:

Zero: Lieutenant!...(he didn't hear an answer so he called once again)…Oh, brother. Lieutenant Gabriel! Get out from there, I've sensed you coming after me!

The lieutenant came out and stood in front of Zero, with his hand holding the pistol behind his back:

Gabriel: You seem to be a clever young man, senior Zero. What I need to know is why are you so mad with the Count?! His Excellency wanted to meet you more than anything!

Zero: Heh…Maybe you have to ask _**'his Excellency'**_ about this subject.

Gabriel: WHAT?! WHAT DO YOU MEAN WITH THAT?!HAH!(Zero ignores him)…ANSWER ME!

When Zero was walking away from him, Gabriel got angrier and shot Zero on his back, Vegeta and the Ginyu force were watching everything, and when Zero fell on the ground they've dashed to him to make sure that the lieutenant didn't kill him:

Jeice: WHAT'S YOUR PROBLEM WITH HIM?!

Goldu: THAT'S RIGHT! WHAT MADE YOU SHOOT HIM?!

And just right then, Commander Raymond appeared and walked towards Gabriel:

Raymond: Well? ARE YOU HAPPY NOW?!

Gabriel: What?

Raymond punched Gabriel in his face sending him to the ground, then turned around to the Ginyu force and bowed to them with apology:

Raymond: My apologies, gentlemen, I didn't expect the lieutenant to act like that. As for you…(turns to Gabriel with angry look in his eyes)… You've done enough troubles and I'm not going to cover it! I'll tell his Excellency about what you've done!

Gabriel(getting up in panic): Commander, no! Please don't tell the Count about this! You know what he'll do to me when we get back to the Champs-Elysee!

Raymond: Exactly, and that's why I'm telling him about this. I had enough of your irresponsible actions, lieutenant! And this was the straw that broke the camel's back! I'm going to tell his Excellency about this and that's my last decision!

He leaves them and Gabriel follows him after a while. As for them, they took Zero to Lifesaver to heal his injuries, Lifesaver healed Zero and told the Ginyu force that he needs some rest. Meanwhile, Raymond told the Count about what Gabriel done with Zero which made him feel angry. He then left the base with apologies to all of the hunters.

Count's pointveiw:

When we arrived to the Champs-Elysee, Gabriel was afraid from what would happen to him and what he feared of has happened, I struck him with my scepter which made his head bleeding. "Your action today was unacceptable, lieutenant! If you done anything like that again, I assure you that you'll have something much worse than a bleeding head! Am I clear, lieutenant?!", I shouted at Gabriel with anger and he just looked down in shame and said:"Yes, your Excellency. I won't do it again."

"Good", I said, "By the way, Raymond."

"Yes, Excellency?", the commander responded to me quickly when he saw me in this condition. "What's her situation?", I asked him after I calmed down a little, "She's still with the X-men, sir.", he answered.

"And her relationship with Wolverine?".

"Well, she's still in love with him and they're getting with each other very well. At least, that's what Blaze has told me".

"Very well", I said then I went to my room and didn't stop thinking about the kid.

Zero' pointveiw:

When I woke up next morning, I got up from the bed and went downstairs to find everyone waiting for me there. They were happy to see me, especially Jei and Iris, they all came to me and asked me if I was alright, I answered them that I was fine then I asked Signas to let me go to Marseilles so I could get some answers. At first, he was confused about it but after he saw my determine he let me go there.

At 11:00 a.m., I was ready to go. I was able to catch the first train heading to Marseilles, all the way I was thinking about what I can find about Edmond Dantes. When I arrived there, I looked for Maximilian Morrel. After all, if anyone could help me it would be him.

I arrived to Maximilian's house and knocked the door, his sister opened the door for me and I excused myself and she let me in. "Is Max in here? I want to ask him about something."

"Zero!", I turned around to find Maximilian looking at me with joy, "I'm happy to see you. What brought you to Marseilles? Is it important?", he asked me.

"Well, yes Max. I want to get some information about a man by the name of Edmond Dantes.", I saw him shocked when I mentioned that name and he told me that Edmond Dantes was a sailor working for his father. I asked him to show me the files of his father's ship, then we went to his room and I was surprised to see the two of Mr. Danglars and General Morcerf in the records of the ship but instead of Morcerf I saw 'Fernand Mondego' written beside the picture.

Then it came on the screen, the picture of Edmond Dantes appeared and it all came together in my mind! 'Could it be…?', I thought as Max was explaining to me that Edmond was dead in the Chateau dei'f. It was all clear to me now! "That's it!", I stood up as I said that and Maximilian was surprised from my action and asked:"What is it?". "He's alive… There's no doubt. Edmond Dantes is alive… I've got to go back to the base!", I said. And before Max could say anything, I used my Chaos emerald to teleport to the Hunter Base. 'How could I be so stupid?', I thought as I was running until I reached to X and the others and I saw the Count there! He looked at me with that malicious smile on his face.


	4. The death match

Chapter 4: The death match

All of the Maverick Hunters stood there, looking at Zero and the Count in confusion. Zero stepped forward confidently towards the Count then stopped in front of him:

The Count: Ah! Monsieur Zero! Welcome back.

Zero: What are you doing here, Excellency?

The Count: My, how it happened that you don't know? I simply came here for you.

Zero: For…me?

The Count: Yes. You see, I want to tell you that your friends are simply the most stupid creatures in the whole galaxy, especially X. I can't believe how they have such foolishness.(starts laughing)

Keroro: What?!

Giroro: How dare you?!

The Count: Now, if you excuse me, I'll take my leave.

Zero gets mad, holds a stone and throws it at the Count's back:

Zero: GANKUTSUOU!

The Count stops for a while, then turns his face to Zero:

Zero: A duel… A duel!

All: What?!

Ben(in his mind): Is he insane?! He'll kill himself like that!

The Count: Very impressive. And how do you want it to be like?

Zero: Robot fighters' match… You and me! Tomorrow 5:00 a.m.!

Barodius: Zero.

The Count: Fine, and everyone should be there to witness our duel.

Iris: No, please!

The Count: It's over! A battle…to the death!

Zero: And you said it! To the death!

The Count left the hunters in confusion, then they got in the base and tried to make Zero hold back from his decision but with no use. Zero was more stubborn than any of them:

X: Zero, please. We're begging of you! Don't fight him!

Zero: It's settled, X!

Ren: But Zero…

Zero: No buts, guys! It's over… I WILL fight Gankutsuou and nothing, I repeat: nothing will ever stop me from doing so!

He gets in the room, and closes the door on himself. Meanwhile, Ben was trying with the Count but he also was stubborn and didn't listen:

Ben: Why do you want to fight him?! Are you absolutely out of your mind?!

The Count: Ben, you heard the kid… He wanted the fight not me.

Ben: Then you retreat from it.

The Count: I can't.

Ben: Why?!

The Count: Because I've never refused a challenge in my life, and I won't.

Ben: But…

The Count: Enough, Ben! It's over! Leave now before I change my mind!

Ben gave up to the Count's decision and went back to the base.

Gin point view:

At 3:00 a.m., I went to Zero's room with a drink in my hand. He welcomed me in and we started to drink together. We kept laughing and talking for an hour. "You drunk so much, didn't you Zero?", I said in a joking tone, he just laughed and said:"Oh, shut up Gin! Let's just enjoy the moment. I'll wipe him to the floor! Just wait…and…see.", that was the last thing he said before he went out cold, he was unaware that I've put sleeping pills in his glass. 'Sorry, Zero. But I can't watch you being killed and do nothing about it!', I thought. I went out of the room and ran out of the base, then I summoned my robot fighter 'Wolf Warrior' and went to fight that bastard! He shall pay for what he has done to Zero! Even if it meant the end of my life!

The time of the battle has come, all of the hunters were there and so were the Count's men. The Count was the first to appear then 'Dragorobo' showed up, but they didn't know it was 'Wolf Warrior' in disguise :

The Count: You think that being a hunter makes you so brave! I'll show how the real fight is! Let's go!

They began to fight, everyone were watching in fear especially Iris. She was afraid someone might get hurt.

During the battle, Jeice noticed that 'Dragorobo' was moving more like a wolf, "Guys, follow me!", he said to the rest of the Ginyu force members in determine, they followed him with confusion and Burter asked him:"What is it, Jeice? Where are you going?"

"I'm going back to the base!"

"Why? Is something wrong?", asked Ginyu in confusion while running after Jeice, "I'm not sure, but I'll be so when I check something in the base.", he said and the others still didn't understand what was going on.

When they got to the base, they all headed with Jeice to Zero's room to find Zero sleeping on the desk:

Jeice: As I suspected.(gets closer to Zero)

Goldu: I don't get it! If Zero was still here then…

Recoom: Who's the guy we saw fighting Gankutsuou?!

Burter(holding the sleeping pills): Hey, guys! Look what I've found!

Ginyu: Sleeping pills! But what are they doing here?!

Jeice: It's obvious!(when they look at him)… Gin made Zero to sleep and went to fight Gankutsuou instead of him!

All: What?!

Jeice: We have to wake him up!...(shakes Zero to wake him)… Zero, Zero! Zero, wake up!

When Zero opened his eyes, he felt a little bit dizzy and saw the Ginyu force standing in front of him. "Damn it, Gin! What did you put in my glass?!", he cursed as he looked at the clock. He panicked when he saw it was 5:15 o'clock! When he recognized what happened, he quickly ran out of the base and summoned 'Dragorobo', "Hop on!", he ordered the Ginyu force and they obeyed him. Zero then went off as fast as he can and he hoped it wasn't too late.

Meanwhile, the Count has almost finished 'Wolf Warrior' off. Gin tried to move but he couldn't because of his injuries:

The Count(holds up the sword): So this is the end? You really disappointed me. I have expected you to be stronger than this. How pathetic!

The sword almost hit Wolf Warrior but Dragorobo held off the sword with its arm and sent the Count's armor backwards. Everyone looked shocked until Gin turned off the disguise and showed everyone his true self. Vodka dashed with the other Black Organization members and got Gin out of his robot fighter. The Count looked at Zero and started to laugh maliciously:

Zero(with anger): What's so funny?!

The Count: You finally show your true self, a coward hiding behind his friends.

Gin: It's better than not having friends at all, you cursed demon! Ah.

Zero: Aniki!

Lifesaver: He'll be fine! You just concentrate on your battle!

The Count: How touching, such pathetic foolish boy.(laughing)

Zero: I had enough of you! GET LOST!

The Count evades Zero's strike and cuts Dragorobo's arm then sends him to the ground.

Surprising to all, Zero got out and stood on his robot fighter then started talking to him:

Zero: Dragorobo! Are you OK?

Dragorobo: I'll be fine, Zero. Don't worry about me.

Silver(in amazement): Is it just me or that robot had just talked?

Zero(tears rolling down his cheeks): Why?... You have suffered, I understand this. But why do you want to make everyone suffer like you?

The Count: You know nothing about my suffering!

Zero(turns around to him): I know exactly how you suffered, Dantes!...(everyone get shocked)… Edmond Dantes. That's your real name, and that's your true self… An innocent man who has been thrown in the depths of the space for an injustice charge of treason! Am I right, Count? I mean Edmond Dantes?

The Count kept silent for a while. He didn't expect to hear his old name again. "Edmond Dantes is dead.", he broke the silence with that comment then continued his words: "No one can change this fact, not even you."

"What the hell is this nonsense you're saying now?!", Zero said tears forming again in his eyes. "Are you saying that Edmond Dantes, the good man you were once, have been lost in this form and he would never be back? Are you saying that you can never be that man anymore? Is that what you're trying to tell me?!...(when he doesn't hear an answer)… Answer me!".

Everything kept quiet and Zero started crying. Then the Count lifted his sword in the air and said: "Let's get this over with.", then he lowered the sword and almost hit the dragon shaped robot but something unexpected happened:

The Count(to himself): Impossible! How could he do this?!

Axl: Wow! This is awesome! Did you guys see that?!

X: We saw it and we still can.

Guilmon: Zero is a super strong saiyan.

Baptistin: Incredible!

Blaze: No way! He blocked the sword with just his bare hands!

Gabriel: How could this happen?

Raymond: It happened because of Zero's will.

Bertuccio: What do you mean?

Raymond: Zero has a strong will. The will of protecting his friends, that's what makes him stronger than anything in all of the worlds.

Zero: I believe…(sends the Count's robot backwards)… I believe you'll be that man again!

That moment, the Chaos emerald in Zero's forehead gem started to glow and a blinding light surrounded Zero as he shouted: "CHAOS…CONTROL!". All of the Chaos emeralds gathered above Zero even the Master emerald, then he transformed into the Prince of Chaos and Drago Robo was fixed by the power of the emeralds and transformed into Robo Z:

Zero: Gankutsuou! I shall end this fight right now! Dragon sword!

The attack hit the Count and made the robot collapse on the ground. The Maverick Hunters knew that Zero was victorious and they were happy for him. Zero then got out of his robot and went to the Count after he decreased his power back to normal, he noticed that Commodore Sunny has commanded the soldiers to point their weapons at the Count's robot:

Sunny: Prepare yourselves, men! When Gankutsuou gets out, arrest him right away!...(turns around to see Zero on top of the robot)… Zero, what on earth are you doing?! Get away from him at once!

Zero: I won't.

Sunny(gets angry): Zero Omega! That's an order! Get away from that robot this instant or else you'll be punished!

Zero(turns around): Fine! Then shoot me if you want! I won't let you arrest him! Do you hear me, Sunny?!

They all were shocked from his words especially Sunny who couldn't say anything in reply to Zero's words. Zero saw the top of the robot open then he got closer to the Count and stretched his hand to him:

Zero(smile): You need a hand?

The Count(confused): Why are you…

Zero: Because I'm the Prince of Chaos. It's my duty to help others, and to forgive the ones who have hurt me in the past. That's what I've learned from my grandfather.

The Count took Zero's hand and Zero helped him to get on his feet. Surprising to everyone, he smiled to the Count and said: "You're free to go, Excellency.", the Count was the most surprised of them all. He didn't expect that the kid would forgive him this easily. He just bid the Hunters a farewell with an apology and left with his men. The Hunters went back to the base, and Zero had been blamed roughly on his hasty actions.

Later that night, Zero was thinking about something. 'Maybe if I went to the Champs-Elysee and talked with him he would become one of us.', he thought and smiled to himself then went asleep.

Meanwhile, X was telling some friends about what happened earlier:

X: And that's what exactly happened, Magnum.

Magnum Ace: So, Zero forgave him and let him go?

Top Joy: Wow! He's really cool!

Mach Windy: And you guys say that I'm hasty.

Top Joy(turns on the speakers on his shoulders): Don't mind, Windy! You are hasty and stubborn but Zero is way hastier and more stubborn than you!

X(sweat drop): Seriously, Top Joy, is it necessary to turn your speakers on?

Top Joy(turns them off): Oh, sorry X. But me can't hold myself.

X: That's fine. Ok, see you later. Do your best in these matches, Silver Castle. Oh, and send our regards to your Owner.

Magnum Ace: Will do. And you do your best in your battles with the Mavericks. See you later.

Mach Windy: Goodbye.

Top Joy: See you again.

Kiai Ryuken: Goodbye, X.

Kiwami Jyuurouta: Take care of yourself.

Bull Armor: See you soon.

GZ: Be careful.

X: See you soon, Silver Castle.

Their picture disappears from the screen, and X goes to his bed.


	5. The great rescuer:Zero (Nightmare)

Chapter 5: The great rescuer: Zero part 1(Nightmare)

Count's pointveiw:

I was in my room thinking about the previous events, the kid really saved my life despite of everything I've done to him. 'Isn't this our chance to join him?' Gankutsuou said in excitement. I just shook my head and said: "It's not the right time, yet."

Right then, Blaze rushed through the door with haste, holding a letter in her hand. "We have a trouble!" she said while giving me the letter, I took it from her and read it. I was shocked by what I read, "PREPARE THE CARRIAGE! HURRY!", I shouted at her and she went as fast as she can to do what I ordered her. 'We DO have a trouble. A big one', I thought as I was looking at the symbol on the envelope. I just wish the kid would stay out of it.

Normal pointveiw:

Zero was on his way to the Champs-Elysee. When he reached there, he saw Raymond and Gabriel and greeted them and asked about the Count. "I'm sorry, senior Zero. But the Count is not here at the mean time." Raymond said politely.

"Did he say when he'll be back?" Zero asked

"Unfortunately, he didn't. I'm really sorry" Raymond answered him. Zero turned around and disappeared from their sight and used his speed to get into the house. When he was in, he sneaked carefully into the Count's room. He saw a letter on the desk and what shocked him is that the envelope had the Maverick's symbol on it. 'Could it be...?' he thought, then he opened the envelope and read:

 ** _"Gankutsuou. If you want to keep yourself and your servants safe, come and meet me in Boulogne at ten._**

 ** _Nightmare_**

 ** _Oh, by the way, look at the back of the paper."_**

Zero looked at the back of the paper. His eyes widened of fear when he read the word **'Shinigami'** -which means Grim Reaper or Death in Japanese-. "Oh no. This means he's in danger... Ah!", something hit his head so hard that it made him fall to the floor. He looked up and saw the Count looking at him with sad eyes:

The Count: Sorry, kid. I don't want you to get involved in this.

Zero(weakly standing up): Wait!

The Count(turns around): What?!

Zero: Don't go. You'll get killed.

The Count: I know. But I must do this. Fare the well, Zero.

Zero: Wait! Don't go! They'll kill you! Excellency. Excellency!...(falls to the floor again)... No. Ed...mond.

That was the last thing he said before he fainted.

Meanwhile, the Count went to meet Nightmare. He knew that he was going to death with his own feet, but he had no choice. The carriage stopped and he got out of it. Then, he walked into the forest with the four of Blaze, Silver, Raymond and Gabriel. He reached the meeting point and looked at his pocket watch, it was pointing at ten. 'Strange, he has to be here by now.', as he finished his thought, a troop of Maverick soldiers surrounded his followers. "Well, hello there...", he turned around and saw Nightmare who smiled and continued his words,"...Excellency."

Back at the Count's house, Zero woke up, still feeling dizzy from the Count's hit. Haydee was sitting next to him, "Are you alright?", she asked him with worried tone in her voice. The young Hunter looked at the alien princess with his blue eyes for a few minutes. Then, he suddenly stood up and started running, "Wait! where are going?!", she shouted but he didn't stop to answer her. He kept running until he reached his Chase Rider, he activated it and went to Boulogne. When he reached there, he got down and ran as fast as he can. 'Edmond... Edmond...' "Edmond!", his voice echoed through the forest as he kept running and hoped that the Count would be okay.

That moment, the Count was getting beat up by Nightmare. He was badly damaged and could barely stand on his feet. "You...bastard", he said weakly then collapsed on his knees. "Say what you want, you're done for.", he held his claws in the air, assured of his ability to kill the exhausted aristocratic. Blaze and her comrades looked at them with fear in their eyes, then Nightmare swift down his clawed hand and the Count closed his eyes prepared for his demise. But when he opened his eyes, he saw Zero standing in front of him and blocking Nightmare's hand. "Monsieur Zero!", Silver shouted in excitement. The others looked happy to see him, "What?!", Nightmare said annoyed by Zero's appearance.

"I won't let you hurt him!", he pushed Nightmare backwards, used his Chaos Emerald to destroy the soldiers then turned to the Count:

Zero: I'll take care of him. Hurry up and leave.

The Count: But what about you?

Zero: I'll be fine. Bertuccio and Baptistin are coming after me to take you from here.

Bertuccio(from afar): Excellency!

Zero: Just in time. (notices that Nightmare was starting to stand up)Bertuccio! Quickly, take the Count and get out of here! All of you!

Bertuccio took the Count and the others all ran away. Then, a battle between Zero and Nightmare started.

While they were running, the Count and the others could hear the sounds of the battle between the two reploids. Suddenly, the Count stopped when he heard a cry of pain that belonged to a dragon. "Excellency, what's wrong?", Silver asked. The Count said nothing. He just turned around and went back to Zero's place, "Excellency! Come back!", Blaze shouted but he didn't listen to her and kept running until he reached the battlefield. The others arrived after a short time and saw the view of two dragons fighting in the sky. When they landed on the ground, it was easy to identify each one of them. Zero was a blue dragon with yellow eyes and golden armor parts on his shoulders, chest, legs and head, Nightmare was a three-headed black dragon with red eyes and violet armor covering his body. The three-headed dragon held the blue dragon with his hands and the two heads on the sides bit the blue dragon's neck while the third one was breathing dark fire at the injured dragon:

Blaze: Oh, God!

Silver: This is very cruel! I mean... He just saved our lives and now he takes all the pain!

Raymond: He'll die if this went on.

Gabriel: No! We can't let that happen!

Bertuccio: It's over. He's doomed this time.

The Count: Not if I had something to do about it.

A fire spear formed in the Count's hand. Then, he ran to Nightmare and threw the spear at him. Nightmare felt the stinging pain of the spear's fire, he let go of Zero and removed the spear from his shoulder. He roared angrily and tried to burn the Count and his followers, but Zero held him from behind and flew up as high as possible then dived down hardly and crushed the ground forming a huge hole. The Count and his followers went to the hole to check if Zero was okay. They saw Nightmare getting out of the dust cloud -after he was back into his normal form- and thought that they were done for. All of a sudden, he collapsed and Zero was standing right behind him. He seemed to be weak because of the fight. He lifted his thumb and smiled to them. "I... always... keep my word.", he said weakly. The Count smiled at him in relief, then Zero waved goodbye to them and flew away.

Later that night, the Count laid on his bed, thinking of the earlier events. 'So I guess now is the right time?', Gankutsuou asked boringly, he was tired of being hunted all the time. The Count's lips formed into a smile and answered: "Indeed.". Then, he fell asleep.


	6. To become a hunter

Chapter 6: The great rescuer: Zero part 2 (To become a hunter)

The Count woke up next morning, put on his clothes and ordered Blaze and Silver to prepare themselves. The white hedgehog and the purple cat obeyed immediately, happiness filling them; because they knew one sure thing: **The Count Has finally made up his mind.**

They all went on their way to the Hunter base. Everything was just fine until they were suddenly attacked. Energy blasts were shot at the carriage and the Count knew whose they were. 'Reala!', he thought and ordered Blaze to head for Boulogne. There, he got out of the carriage and commanded her and Silver to go and get help from the Maverick Hunters. They both obeyed right away and went off to the Hunter Base.

The Count went on running deeper inside the forest until someone got in his way. It was a black hedgehog with indigo stripes:

?: Well, well, well, long time no see. The last time I saw you was when you ruined my fun with that weakling hedgehog.

The Count: Seelkadoom!

Seelkadoom: What? Aren't you happy to see me? This time, I'm going to cut you into pieces.

The Count: You won't get away with your crimes.

Seelkadoom: I think I've already got away.

Seelkadoom keeps striking the Count, making bruises and scratches all over his body. The Count could stand on his feet but weakly, and Seelkadoom rose his sword. "Any last words, shoesy?", he said with a smirk on his face. The Count closed his eyes waiting for his death. Surprisingly, he opened his eyes and looked at his hands. He didn't die! He then looked up and saw Zero blocking Seelkadoom's strike with his saber. He was shocked until Zero yelled at him: "Run!". The Count didn't respond to him, so he threw Seelkadoom backwards and turned around, "Go!", he shouted then ran away with the Count until they reached to an edge overlooking the river. 'Dead end!', the Count thought. Then, Seelkadoom appeared shortly and Zero stood in a fight position:

Zero: Stay behind me.

The Count: OK.

Seelkadoom(laughs): Looks like it's a dead end to you. Right, shoesy?

Zero: Can you ever stop calling people with a word you've just made up, shorty?

Seelkadoom(with anger): You're going to wish you haven't said that! Prepare to die!

Seelkadoom keeps walking towards them and they keep stepping back slowly. Then, the Count's foot slipped from the edge and he fell. "Count!", Zero shouted as he quickly sheathed his sword, grabbed the Count with one hand and held on to the edge with the other one:

Zero: Hang on!

The Count: It's no use, Zero! Let go of me!

Zero: No!

Seelkadoom: You heard him. Let go of him or else both of you are going to have bullets in your heads.

Zero: I said No!

Seelkadoom steps on Zero's hand which caused him to fall. But Zero is a saiyan, his stubbornness won't let him fall this easily. He used his fingers and pressed hardly into the rocks until he stopped. "Zero. Why?", the Count said looking down in depression. He continued: "Why are you risking your life to save me after all what I've done to you?"  
"Because I'm a Maverick Hunter.", the Count looked up after hearing Zero's words. He saw the look of determine in the young hunter's eyes as he was tightening his grasp on him. "I'll never let go. Even if they ripped my body with bullets, I'll never let go Edmond!", Zero shouted the last sentence which made the Count's widen in shock. Does he really mean this?! "Zero.", the Count said quietly.

Then, a bullet hit Zero's waist which made him faint and loosen his grasp and fall. Fortunately, the Count acted fast and held Zero in his arms as they both fell in the river.  
After that, he swam to the river bank pulling Zero with him. And when they reached there:

The Count: Zero. Zero. Come on, kid. Speak to me.(checks his breath)... Thank God, you're okay.

Seelkadoom(from behind): Not for long.

The Count(turns around): You! Stay away from him!

Seelkadoom(humiliatingly): Oh, no. I'm shaking of fear.(laugh)

The Count: Don't underestimate me, Seelkadoom! I won't let you hurt him!

Seelkadoom: Really?... Then come on, show me what you've got, shoes insect.

The Count(forms the fire spear in his hand): I'll show you the real power of the Count of Monte Cristo!

"What?!", Seelkadoom shouts as he notices the Count's increasing power. Before he could react, the Count dashed at him and stroke him with the spear. Seelkadoom couldn't hold on to the count's attack, so he was sent flaying backwards. 'This can't be! Where did get all this energy?!... Could be that this meddlesome hunter is the reason of this power?!', he thought. As he was about to do a counter attack, the Count's followers came. "You were lucky this time.", he said then he escaped.  
When they reached him, the Count carried Zero and took him to his place in the Champs-Elysee.

Next morning, Zero woke up and fixed himself into sitting position. "You're finally up.", he turned his sight to the direction of the voice to see the Count sitting next to the bed:

The Count: I'm glad that you're still alive.

Zero: Yeah, me too. By the way, I could hear what you were saying while I was unconscious. Thanks for saving me.

The Count: Not at all. I'm the one who must be thanking you, Zero. You saved my life many times, i was just returning the favor.

Zero: Is that so? Then, it's fine to me.

The Count: Oh. By the way, your friends asked about you and I told them you're going to stay with me for a couple of weeks until your injuries are healed. They were really relieved with that, especially miss Iris and Mr X.

Zero: Really? Wow. They must've been worried-sick about me.

The Count: Sure they were. Oh, I almost forgot to tell you something.

Zero: What is it?

The Count: I think Vegeta and Double T still don't trust me. When they knew that you'll be staying here, they wanted to eat me alive but Ben hit them with the fan on their heads.

Zero: Well, I guess Vegeta will never be able to keep his **'pride'** as the prince of all Saiyans.

They look at each other and laugh at how Zero simulated Vegeta. Then, they stopped laughing and the Count went to the window looking at the sky. "Zero. I want to ask you a favor.", he said nervously. Zero was excited to know what it was and said: "Sure. Anything you want.". He waited five minutes for the Count to speak up. "I was intending to say it for a while. I'd like to join you as a Maverick Hunter."

Zero's pointview:

"I was intending to say it for a while. I'd like to join you as a Maverick Hunter.", the Count said and I couldn't believe my ears. Did I hear it right?! Is he really joining us?! I turned to face him and I said it with all the happiness I had in my heart: "Are you serious?! This'll be great!"

He turned around to face me and looked amazed of my answer to his request. "You agree?", he asked. I just rised a thumd to him and cofirmed him of my agreement. He came to me and held my hand in between his and said: "Thank you, my friend. I'm really grateful to you...for everything." "Don't mention it. That's what friends are for, Edmond.", I said to him and assured him that I'll tell the others after I'm fully healed.

Two weeks passed fast. Today, we will be welcoming a new comerade. Everyone were excited. Vegeta trusts the Count now and Double T? Well, let's just say that he still needs some time to trust him. So, we were all in the meeting room as the General stood up and said: "Dear Hunters. Today we're adding a new friend to our community. Zero, the honor is yours."

"My dear friends, thank you all for accepting my decision. I really appreciate it.", I started saying then pointed at the Count's direction. "Hunters. Let's all welcome our new comerade, the Count of Monte Cristo."

And from that day on, the Count, Gin and I were the strongest trio in the base. We were known as 'the tripple force'.


End file.
